The other night we went to hear a local jazz quartet. Or, rather, tried to hear them, being bracketed on either side by people who decided to talk during the music.

To my left were a couple of women who looked barely old enough to drink. They yammered for long, squealy stretches about jobs and friends, and the photos on their smartphones, and the Facebook updates they were posting.

To DF’s right were two women whose voices were audible but whose words I couldn’t quite make out. Thankfully, they left toward the end of the first set; at that point DF told me they’d spoken in detail about how best to avoid the locals during bike trips to other countries.

You go all the way to Guatemala or Sierra Leone and you want to AVOID the locals? I thought. Why did you even go? And why are you HERE when you obviously don’t care about the music?

Just spent a couple of days in Fairbanks with my friend Linda B. Today I came home to freshly waxed floors, freshly baked bread and freshly boiled whale. I am not making that up. Yes, DF really did wax the floors.

Although the light is returning to Anchorage, summer is still quite some time off. That’s just as well, since I am sadly out of shape after far too many hours in front of the computer.

Maybe you’re as creakified as I am after a long winter. One possible answer: yoga. Yep, yoga, which provides gentle stretches of deskbound muscles and also de-stresses minds tied in knots about the tasks performed at those desks.

I took several yoga classes in Seattle and I really, really need to get back to it. Podcasts to start, maybe, and a class at the YMCA or some other Anchorage location.

Whoever wins this week’s giveaway can get a $50 head start on yoga gear, thanks to the Sports Authority.